


i resolved to love

by theladiesyouhate



Category: Wonder Woman (2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bakery and Coffee Shop, F/M, Families of Choice, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Mutual Pining, Slow Burn, Steve Trevor owns a coffee shop/bakery and nothing hurts, There's a plot I swear, except when it does, other characters show up eventually
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-04
Updated: 2018-10-04
Packaged: 2019-07-25 00:44:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,824
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16186556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theladiesyouhate/pseuds/theladiesyouhate
Summary: Steve’s grandmother, bless her heart, had once told Steve that if your heart was strong, your coffee would be too. He had no idea what inspired that one, but on days like today he tried to hold it near and dear to his own heart.(or, the modern AU where Steve Trevor owns a struggling coffee shop and bakery with his best friends and an entire romantic comedy ensues)





	i resolved to love

**Author's Note:**

> So this is the first fic I've written since 2016 and it's not even Star Wars, who would've guessed?
> 
> Anyway this is my attempt at processing my own experience in customer service, as well as a writing experiment to see if I can write a romantic comedy, which is not my usual genre. Also yes, this is essentially me banging two pots and pans together trying to get everyone to ship Charlie/Sameer because they're husbands, dammit. 
> 
> For the first chapter, Diana does not appear in it as much as she will for the rest of the fic, and Chief also doesn't make an appearance yet. Both will have big roles to play, I swear.
> 
> Many thanks to Elri and Olivia. May we get what we want, what we need, but may we never get what we deserve.
> 
> (Also I'm old so forgive me for doing this but disclaimer, I don't own any of these characters and please don't sue me, thanks)

Steve’s grandmother, bless her heart, had once told Steve that if your heart was strong, your coffee would be too. He had no idea what inspired that one, but on days like today he tried to hold it near and dear to his own heart.

“I’m sorry, ma’am,” he repeated, willing the polite smile to stay on his face. “We bake throughout the day in small quantities in order to make sure customers always get something fresh.”

“She told me that already!” The woman he was speaking to jerked her head towards Etta, who was pointedly pretending she was not paying attention. “But I need two dozen of the lemon blueberry cookies for a meeting with a very important client. They’re her favorite!”

Steve half-wished for the world to end. “I understand, and I’m sorry, but we simply do not have two dozen right now. I can put another tray in the oven for you, but for them to bake and cool down enough to be packaged will take about forty minutes."

The woman huffed. “I don’t have that kind of time!”

“I’m sorry,” Steve repeated for the third time, hoping that he actually did seem sorry. “Can I get you anything else?”

“No!” The woman drew herself up to her full height and fixed Steve with a glare. “You just lost a customer. In fact, no one from my office will be stopping here again!”

She turned on her heel and stormed towards the door, every eye in the store on her. There was a moment’s silence before the rumble of conversation continued, and Steve turned his back to the register, letting his smile fade into a scowl.

“Well she was bloody charming,” Charlie muttered from his post by the espresso machine.

Etta nodded, peering towards the door. “If she writes us up on Yelp, can I reply? Because she’s never been very nice. Never tipped. Always yelled about her order.”

“No, no, we are not fighting anyone on Yelp.” Steve shook his head. “We are professionals, and we have excellent customer service —“

“Especially since we stopped letting Charlie work the register,” Etta added under her breath. 

“— as I was saying we are all good with the customers,” Steve continued as Charlie sputtered indignantly. “So we’re not going to risk that reputation by picking a fight on Yelp, of all places.” 

He paused. “Any questions?”

Charlie’s hand shot into the air like he was still in school.

“No, you don’t have to… okay, yes, Charlie?” Steve prayed to anyone that was listening to give him the courage to deal with his beloved employees.

“Yeah, I’d like to say that I do just fine with the customers, and it’s not my fault they’re idiots who can’t make up their minds.” Charlie glared at Etta, who gave him an innocent look in return.

Steve glanced around, but no one was paying attention to their little staff meeting. “You can’t just call our customers idiots!”

“What if they are?”

“He’s got a point,” Etta said drily. “They can be idiots.”

_Whoever's listening, grant me the patience to deal with these two_ , Steve thought. “I know they can be sometimes but when we’re in front of house, every customer is our favorite customer.”

The bell over the door jangled merrily and Etta peered over Steve’s shoulder, face splitting into a devilish grin.

“Talk about timing, your favorite customer just walked in,” she said sweetly.

Steve felt his cheeks flush. He knew exactly who they were talking about. He smoothed down the front of his apron without thinking before turning around, a smile already on his face. 

“Hi, Diana,” he said brightly. Behind him, he could hear Etta and Charlie snickering.

Diana, looking regal as ever in a deep red blazer, smiled warmly at him. “Hello,” she said, drawing close to the counter. Her eyes moved past him and she smiled at his decidedly terrible employees. “Was I interrupting something?”

“Of course not,” Etta said before Steve could reply. “Just a quick little staff check-in. Busy day and whatnot!”

Diana’s eyes returned to Steve. “Nothing you can’t handle, I’m sure.”

“Yeah, it’s nothing.” Steve let out a small laugh. “You know the drill, people come in here thinking we’re a big chain and then get mad when we can’t do exactly what they want. I tell them, you want mass produced baked goods and watered down coffee, The Lab is right up the street.”

Diana’s eyes sparkled with mischief. “Mr. Trevor, you wouldn’t be badmouthing the competition, would you now?”

“Of course not,” Steve deadpanned. “I would never speak ill of Isabel Maru, her lawyer, or that ridiculous chain store of theirs.”

He kept his mock serious expression for a moment longer before cracking a smile. “The usual, Ms. Prince?”

Diana smiled and nodded. “Please.”

A couple of other customers came into the store as Steve was ringing her up. Diana moved out of the way after she paid, giving Steve a slight smile which he returned.

Etta, ever his savior, nudged him slightly with her elbow. “I can take care of them, boss! You go make sure the customers are happy!”

Steve gave her a look that was part exasperation, part gratitude before walking around the counter, heading towards Diana.

“Shouldn’t you be setting a good example for your employees and not gossiping with customers?” Diana raised an eyebrow slightly, her smile betraying her.

Steve chuckled. “They’ve got the store under control. They don’t need me back there crowding them.”

Diana laughed as well. “Do you do this for all your regular customers?”

“Only some.” Steve cocked his head to the side slightly.

Diana was watching him carefully, as if she were studying him. “Let me guess, just your favorites?”

Steve thought of Etta’s remark as Diana had walked in. “Maybe.”

Diana gave him a mischievous grin. “Then I had better keep coming back, just to see the competition.”

And with that, she took her coffee from the counter with a murmured “thank you” in Charlie’s direction and a wink aimed at Steve before walking away. Steve watched her go, very much aware that he was staring.

But she had flirted back. Usually they just made polite conversation about the neighborhood and Diana’s job and local politics, but today she had flirted back.

In a daze, Steve headed back towards the kitchen. Etta and Charlie were wearing twin shit-eating grins, which Steve ignored. Opening the door the warm, inviting kitchen, he walked inside and let the door fall shut behind him, enveloping him in blissful silence.

Diana had flirted back. And wasn't that just something.

Steve headed back towards his office. There was so much to be done today: freezer inventory, dough prep, prepping the schedule for next week. The shop wasn’t going to run itself, and besides, he gave up daydreaming a long time ago. 

Of course, opening the office door meant staring at the pile of bills sitting on his desk. He stared at them, a small scowl forming on his lips. Just another wonderful thing to keep in mind. 

“Boss?”

Steve turned to see Etta standing there, an unusually serious expression on her face. 

“You should go back up front,” Steve said, hoping she’d take the hint.

Etta, in her way, held her ground. “It’s slow and Charlie’s got the register.” She glanced past him towards his desk. “Are we going to talk about those, or shall we keep pretending that you’re not burning croissants and staying up worrying about how we’re going to keep the lights on.”

Sighing, Steve ran a hand over his face. “We’ve got enough money for maybe a couple more months, but I don’t know how much longer we can keep this going.”

“We’ll think of something,” Etta said firmly. “We’ll… I don’t know, have a raffle! Get those college students who’re always taking up all our tables to write a petition, or have bad poetry readings. But we’ll think of something.” Her eyes widened. “An open mic night! Bad singing, and we can make some Irish coffees to get the bad singers singing…”

Steve gave her a tired smile. “Etta, you’re the most wonderful woman I know, but I can’t even afford to get you and Charlie benefits, or pay the bills for that matter. We might be in a no-win situation here.”

“Nonsense.” Etta shook her head. “We’ll come out alright. We always do. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a shop to run.”

“It’s my shop.”

“Keep thinking that, dear.” Etta went to the kitchen door and looked out the small window to the front. She stopped. “Oh my god, Steve! Steve, come here! I think Charlie’s flirting with a customer.”

That was enough to get Steve hurrying towards the door. Etta stepped to the side to let him peer out the window, and sure enough, Charlie was laughing and talking to a man with dark hair who Steve had never seen before.

Etta let out a muffled squeal. “And here I thought this day was going to be a total waste,” she said brightly. “First your lady friend, and now this?”

“Diana’s not… oh forget it,” Steve grumbled as he and Etta jostled for a good position to watch the show.

 

* * *

 

 

Charlie drummed his fingers nervously on the countertop. It wasn’t like he was bad with customers, but he much preferred to stick to the background, making their drinks as Etta sweet-talked them into buying a sugary treat they definitely did not need. Steve might believe in him, but he sure didn’t really believe in himself.

He stared at the door to the kitchen, willing Etta to hop back out before they were hit with a sudden rush and he wound up embarrassing himself in front of a whole line of customers. What could they possibly be talking about now that was so urgent?

The door opened and Charlie fought the urge to grimace. Hopefully it was just someone looking for a small black coffee, maybe a scone, and they’d be easy to deal with.

He turned back towards the front, plastering a smile on his face. He was a big lad. He could do this.

And that’s when he actually caught a glimpse of the new arrival.

The man was handsome, disarmingly so. His dark hair was slightly windswept, and as he watched, the man reached up to smooth it down with his free hand. The other was clutching a couple sheets of paper tightly; as Charlie watched, the man glanced down to read them as he walked forward towards the register.

He stopped and finally looked at Chariie with a pair of big, dark eyes, and Charlie’s heart skipped a beat. 

“Hi,” Charlie managed to squeak out. 

“Hello,” the man said, and fuck, even his voice was attractive. He glanced up at the menu, brow furrowed slightly in concentration. On closer inspection, he seemed tired, as though he hadn’t had a good night’s sleep in at least a few days.

That was something Charlie could relate to.

The man finally looked at Charlie and gave him a brilliant smile. “I’m sorry, I’m afraid I’ve never been here before, so I am going to need your advice.” He leaned forward a little. “I need the strongest drink you have on the menu.”

“That’d be the Above Average,” Charlie said without pause. 

The man blinked. “Excuse me?”

“Our specialty drink. For when the average cup o’ coffee won’t get you through the day!” Charlie grinned at him. “Basically, it’s some kind of white chocolate, hazelnut latte concoction with an extra shot that the boss thought up one day.”

The man at least looked interested. “And is it… above average?”

Charlie nodded, fighting back the urge to tell the story of how Steve had named it after using it as a pick-me-up following a truly bad date. “Aye. All our coffee is."

“I see.” The man nodded. After a moment, he shrugged. “Then, I guess that’s what I will have.”

“Regular or large?”

“Large, please.”

“Oh, you’re a brave soul,” Charlie said, almost without thinking. “You must really need the pick-me-up.”

To his surprise, the man actually laughed at that. “Oh, if only you knew the day I have had. And am about to have.”

By this point in time, Charlie usually was in a rush to get the customers moving; it was another reason he didn’t often work register. But the man was charming, and handsome, and it was a slow stretch. He could spare a couple extra minutes.

He glanced down at the papers in the man’s hand. “Is that a script you’ve got there?”

The man looked sheepish. “Yes. I’m on my way to an audition in an hour, and I’m afraid without coffee I might not survive.”

An actor. Of course the ridiculously attractive man was an actor. It all made sense. Charlie made a mental note to ask Etta if she’d heard about anyone famous being spotted stopping into their shop. Steve would have a field day if some star decided to add this place to their daily routine.

“Should I know you then?” He said bluntly.

A strange, bitter expression passed over the man’s face. “I’m afraid not.”

For a moment, Charlie thought he’d absolutely blown it, that the man would pay for his coffee and stomp out. But then the tension passed as the man sighed and then gave Charlie a wink. 

“Not yet, at least.”

He paid for his coffee and continued making small talk with Charlie as he made on his drink. Charlie learned that the man had just moved to New York from Paris and in fact was currently living a few blocks from the shop, that he was mostly a stage actor but he wouldn’t turn down film or television, and that he usually took his coffee black with some sugar but he was making an exception for espresso today.

Turning to grab a lid for the drink, Charlie was possessed with a sudden, absolutely idiotic idea. However, since Etta and Steve were still preoccupied in the back (what the bloody hell was taking them so long anyway?), there was no one around to tell him he was being an idiot.

He pulled a pen out of the chest pocket of his apron and scrawled “break a leg!” in hopefully legible script along the side before turning around and grinning at the man.

“Here ya go!” He handed the drink over. The man took it and smiled warmly, not yet seeing the message written on the side.

He looked back at Charlie. “Thank you, Mr…..”

“Oh, just Charlie’s fine.”

The man smiled. “Thank you, Charlie.” He paused, then seemed to come to a decision. “My name’s Sameer. Since I’m in the area, we might as well get to know one another.”

Charlie tried not to let himself indulge in panic right there and then. “Yeah, guess so.”

Sameer nodded, then turned and headed for the door. Charlie watched him walk away, feeling almost wistful.

The kitchen door opened just as the front door closed behind Sameer, and Etta stuck her head out. “Is he gone?”

“Were you… were you bloody watching me?” Charlie felt his face flush with embarrassment.

Steve poked his head out as well and gave Charlie a sheepish grin.

“Both of you!” Charlie threw his hands up in the air in frustration. “I’m going to quit one day, and where’ll you both be then…”

“Did you write your number on the cup?” Etta looked beside herself with glee. “That was very slick of you if you did, by the way, top marks for that one.”

“I did not!” A few customers were glancing towards them now so Charlie took a couple steps forward and dropped his voice down to a suitably angry whisper. “He was just on his way to an audition and I wrote ‘break a leg’ on his cup, that’s all I did!”

“That’s even better.” Steve smiled proudly. “Maybe I should let you work the register more often.”

Etta sighed. “If both of you are pining after customers, it’s going to be unbearable. One of you is bad enough.”

Steve glared at her. ‘I do not pine!”

“Yes you do,” Etta said firmly. “And now Charlie’s gone and gotten himself a boyfriend, and you’re both going to be ridiculous. Where’s Chief, he’ll back me up on this!”

It only took five more minutes of bickering before the subject was dropped, though Etta kept shooting pointed looks in his direction the rest of the shift. Charlie tried to ignore it, and tried his best to keep his mind focused on the task at hand and not Sameer. For all his smooth talk, he probably wouldn’t be back. Or he’d find the little note creepy. That would be Charlie’s luck, after all.

All this was was just a slight blip in a routine life in which nothing, thankfully, ever happened.


End file.
